Choose the weapon to get me to 250. :)

Right, so. I've got a 3.0C that I'm trying to hit 3.6-3.75 with. I'm just searching for the right ram to do it with. I've pretty much narrowed my options to: 2x512 PC4000 Ballistix, 2x512 PQI Turbo 3200, or 2x512 PQI Turbo 4400.

First Choice: Now, I ordered myself some PC3200 Ballistix a week ago and I was... wholy dissapointed. They won't prime stable @ 215 2-2-2-5. And won't prime stable @ 240 3-4-4-8. 1:1. (These are sitting next to me, all wrapped up, about to be shipped back to Newegg for a refund) (Mem test leads me to believe that one of the sticks is bad) Perhaps I would have better luck with the PC4000?

Second choice: 2x512 PQI Turbo 3200. Hearing good stuff about this mem. But I'm a little worried. Is it good for Intel as well as the A64's? From the sound of it, this TCCD stuff kicks ***, and I'm hoping to get a piece of this fine cake. But I'm REALLY worried that these aren't going to get me to 250~ as they are 3200.

Third choice: 2x512 PQI Turbo 4400. Now, this solves the problem of the second choice, except that I've heard that these are NOT TCCD. Is this true? I've heard that people are getting rather poor results (Timings) with these.

I'm set for cooling, 4 in, 4 out. Tornado w/ SP-94. So that's not the issue. My old kingston value hit 250 3-4-4-8 5:4. I'm just looking for something to do 1:1 with fairly good timings.

So:
PC4000 Ballistix
PC3200 PQI Turbo
PC4400 PQI Turbo

Which one, and why?

Keep in mind: I'm running a P4P800, so my max vdimm is 2.85.

How do I make this into a poll? lol.

welcome to the forums my friend. to get to 3.6/3.75 u will need ram that runs the best latency from 240/250. the tccd is great ram, it runs 2.2.2.5 up to about 220/225.most will also run 270/280 with loose timings. but tccd isnt the best choice for 240/250. of course the pc4400 will run those speeds but u will be wasting alot of its speed cause u wont need it. i would go with some preowned ocz eb pc3700, or the ballistix pc4000.

Get the PC3200 ballistix. Goes to 250FSB 2.5-2-2-5 wiht 2.8-2.9volts with dual channel and PAT enabled. It won't go much higher than 250FSB but it is the best choice for up to 250FSB with low voltage.

the new pc3200 ram from geil, crucial, ocz, will do do about more less 260 at 2.5-3-3-6

Hey, thanks for your help guys. In a strange twist of fate, I decided to give the 3200 Ballistix one more try. But this time, I switched the dimms. 245 2.5-3-3-7

VCore: 1.55
Vdimm: 2.75

Prime: 32 hours
No errors. =D

How do I get 2.5-2-2-5? Max I can go is 2.85 volts. I don't think it's very stable @ 2.5-2-2-5. It's pretty unstable at 3.75 or above. (Fails prime after 1 hour) Do you think loosining up my timings could help?

Top Secret said:

Hey, thanks for your help guys. In a strange twist of fate, I decided to give the 3200 Ballistix one more try. But this time, I switched the dimms. 245 2.5-3-3-7

VCore: 1.55
Vdimm: 2.75

Prime: 32 hours
No errors. =D

How do I get 2.5-2-2-5? Max I can go is 2.85 volts. I don't think it's very stable @ 2.5-2-2-5. It's pretty unstable at 3.75 or above. (Fails prime after 1 hour) Do you think loosining up my timings could help?

Click to expand...

The EARLY Ballistix PC3200 rated 2-2-2-5 are capable of up to around 250, 1:1, 2.5-2-2-5 with 2.8 volts or so, but those sticks are difficult to find now. Probably due to all this hysteria over TCCD, Crucial has forsaken low end for top end at blah timings to compete. I tried a set of later 2x512 Ballistix PC3200 rated 2-3-2-5 and they top out around 238, 1:1, 2.5-2-2-5 @ 2.8 (my early PC4000 Ballistix actually beat this, managing 241 here). Above that they need to drop down to 2.5-2-3-5, still pretty fast.

Better yet, if you need high end, they do 260, 1:1, 2.5-3-3-5 and only need 2.7 volts. More don't help. At 2-2-2-5, they still do 225 or so @ 2.8 volts, about what the early stuff did.

To say they are versatile sticks is an understatement. With these, I could run a 2.40C at 297, 5:4, 2.5-2-2-5 or a 3.0C at 260 (3.9 gig), 1:1, 2.5-3-3-5. That's 2x512 MB sticks, all at 2.8 VDIMM or less. The sticks do 5:4 very well. Hell, I've run the PC4000 stuff at 294, 5:4, 2.5-2-2-5 @ 2.8 volts.

Sometimes it's a crapshoot with the Ballistix, although I was pleased with 3 out of 4 sets I tried. I would RMA your PC3200 and try another set.

With TCCD, don't expect better than -3-3- over 218-220 or so, and that is much slower than the Ballistix, even what the PC4000 stuff is capable of. The TCCD is if you need 2.5-3-3-6 >260 fsb.

P.S. My finding is PAT won't be enabled on Abit 865P boards unless you run CAS 2: 2-2-2-5 or 2-3-3-6 (800 strap anyway). So no, the Ballistix won't run PAT at 2.5-2-2-5 unless you run an 875P board of any brand.